Black women social workers: Workplace stress experiences

Abstract

Black women social workers (BWSWs) represent essential workforce members who are burdened by ongoing COVID-19 circumstances. Strategies to deal with highly stressful situations on the job, such as those experienced in 2020, were absent from the research literature leaving intervention strategies to support highly stressed BWSWs unknown. This study aimed to uncover the various ways BWSWs experienced their organizations as they performed work duties. Atlas.ti. 9 was used to analyze verbatim transcripts from 17 semi-structured qualitative interviews given by BWSWs across the United States in February 2021. Hermeneutic phenomenology was implemented to interpret interview data. The convenience sample was drawn from professional organizations where BWSWs claimed membership and volunteered to be electronically interviewed for 2 hours generating themes such as stress perceptions, institutional barriers to efficient work productivity and recommendations for workplace support. BWSWs reported high stress work environments in the past year. Some believed that their health and mental health declined because of the inability to find work-home life balance. Findings suggest BWSWs persevere regardless of high levels of stress and being unsupported in the workplace in order to maintain a livelihood. BWSWs play a crucial role in the lives of vulnerable populations, but need to attend to ways to be healthier given the polarization associated with racism, classism, and sexism experienced. Thematically, the data revealed stressful situations in the workplace and how organizations have failed to implement strategies in order to improve social worker health. Suggestions for workplace supports were also identified.

Stress can have impacts on overall health and well-being throughout the life course. But stress experiences for Black women who work in health fields can be intense and remain unrecognized. The lived experience of working Black women suggests stress appearing in all aspects of their lives due to responsibilities of work, family, and social engagement. Daily discriminatory acts based on their race, gender, and class as well as attending to overlapping societal expectations contribute to many negative effects on well-being. As such, the invisibility of stress’s impact across the lifespan and the related health inequities, but especially during the working years, begs for research study.

Black women working within the health social work field may experience an added layer of stress associated with practice burnout. Lloyd et al. (2002) state that “burnout is a syndrome with dimensions of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced feelings of personal accomplishment” (p. 256). Social work literature suggests that difficulty balancing social work values, workload expectations, and personal beliefs can contribute to burnout and vicarious trauma in health social workers (Wilson, 2016; Newell, 2020). Maslach and Leiter (2008) argue that burnout holds a strong association with increased workload. Poorly understood in the literature are the workplace stress experiences specifically for Black women social workers (BWSWs) in the United States and how these experiences impact their overall physical and mental health. Thus, the study aimed to capture the work experiences of BWSWs in order to learn how they interpret and respond to their physical and emotional health given the demand of their performed duties.

Literature review

Black women and stress

Black women experience adverse health outcomes at disproportionately higher rates than other women (Woods-Giscombé and Lobel, 2008). These health concerns have been attributed to the chronic stressors that they experience on a daily basis (Warren-Findlow, 2006: 221). Gaps in research have been linked to the stress complexity, such as historical trauma, sexism, racism, daily microaggressions, and classism. The complexity in defining stress consistently leaves scholars unclear about how to define the term for Black women professionals. Woods-Giscombé and Lobel (2008) advanced the literature by adding three dimensions capturing stress holistically; the areas are race-related, gender-related, and generic stress (p. 2). In order to truly capture the stress experiences of Black women, various intersections of oppression have to be explored (Everett et al., 2010; Hall et al., 2012).

Psychological distress and perceptions of racism

The relationship between psychological distress and perceptions of racism has been explored in much of the literature. Researchers argue that negative health outcomes caused by racism only occur if an individual’s perception of that event was negative (Clark et al., 1999; Franklin- Jackson and Carter 2007). Franklin-Jackson and Carter (2007) assert that the perception of race-related stress is different for each person. The authors suggest that everyone’s perception of racism is influenced by their personality, upbringing, past experiences, and personal beliefs about society (Franklin-Jackson and Carter, 2007). Thus, perception is an important concept to explore when discussing the race-related stress responses of Black women. Additional research on how Black women perceive racism and the impacts that this perception has on their health would provide a broader understanding of the stress that these women experience.

Race-related stress

Clarifying the social utility of race in workplace environments remains a specific barrier in developing appropriate interventions. Continued exposure to microaggressions over time can cause feelings of vulnerability, anger, isolation, and powerlessness (Robinson-Wood et al., 2015: 231). Aggressions degrade and depress Black women leaving a sense of belonging within society questioned. Stereotypical views about race, gender, and culture are viewed or experienced every day and leads to feelings of inadequacy and loneliness (Robinson-Wood et al., 2015). Black women are among those who have been impacted by microaggressions and are at a high risk for depression, and anxiety triggered by racism or more commonly defined as race-related stress (Szymanski and Lewis, 2016; Greer et al., 2009). Greer et al. (2009) point out that Black women experience worse health outcomes when exposed to racism as compared to Black men. Black women social workers experienced an added layer of stress due to the unprecedented stressors that occurred during COVID-19.

COVID-19 and the social worker

Social workers operate with high levels of stress in the workplace due to the nature of their jobs (Sánchez-Moreno et al., 2015;Holmes et al., 2021). Furthermore, serving as a social worker during the pandemic proved to include additional mental, physical and emotional challenges that added to the taxing nature of the position (Pienado and Anderson, 2020; Holmes et al., 2021). Social workers were among the frontline workers who provided emergency services to people dealing with sickness, coping with loss, and struggling to gain access to quality care (Abrams and Dettlaff, 2020). Moreover, they provided emergency support while putting themselves at risk of contracting COVID-19, as management scrambled to develop safety protocol, purchase Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and provide services to the public while protecting staff (Abrams and Dettlaff, 2020). In the beginning stages of the pandemic, the extent literature was not available to provide an irrefutable guide on how to transform the workplace. Thus, BWSWs experienced compounded stress as a result of pandemic uncertainty, grief, discrimination, and social work burnout.

Practice burnout

Practice burnout is a combination of chronic work-related stress and the institutional environment of which social workers must work (Newell, 2020). Burnout, therefore, is a response to work stressors that can result in physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion (Martin et al., 2020; Newell, 2020). Sánchez-Moreno et al. (2015) assert that social workers are susceptible to burnout due to the demanding nature of their jobs. Staff-client interactions are generally fueled by a range of complex feelings including embarrassment, fear, and despair given the client’s psychological, social, and physical concerns (Maslach and Jackson, 1981). Social workers are tasked with the challenging responsibility to assist clients in developing solutions for those concerns. The constant exposure to clients under duress can cause chronic stress and lead to social worker burnout (Maslach and Jackson, 1981; Singer et al., 2020). As such, burnout can result in psychological distress, emotional depletion, negative attitudes towards clients, reduced job satisfaction, and high staff turnover (Salloum et al., 2015; Newell, 2020). For Black women, burnout is compounded by the stereotype of Black women having resilience (hooks, 2005). Resilience for Black women is not a choice, it is a fact of life given the constant occurrence of micro-aggressive behavior in the workplace (Abrams et al., 2014). Psychological manifestations of burnout include lack of focus, exhaustion, and lack of self-confidence (Acker, 1999). Resulting from emotional fatigue, the quality of job performance can decline impacting patient care, administrative duties, and decrease community engagement. Again, these manifestations for BWSWs occur in addition to experiences of racism and dismissiveness of competence. Together the manifestations lead to unrelenting feelings of burnout such as not being rested after sleep (Maslach and Leiter, 2008).

Compassion fatigue has also been highlighted in the literature on burnout. Among social workers, compassion fatigue refers to the psychosocial impacts of their constant exposure to trauma (Harr et al., 2014; Kinman and Grant, 2020). Compassion satisfaction, on the other hand, “refers to the pleasure one derives from being able to do his or her work effectively” (Craig and Sprang, 2010: 322). It has been linked to personal feelings of accomplishment which can decrease vicarious trauma and burnout (Craig and Sprang, 2010). Because of compassion fatigue’s major role in practice, it is critical for health organizations to create interventions that support workers.

Overall, Black women not only deal with the stressors of everyday societal interactions, but they also experience discrimination based on various intersections of oppression. Social norms and interpersonal communications perpetuate the variety of oppressive experiences within institutions and social media. Constant exposure to negative images of one’s culture, micro-aggressions, chronic stressors, and discrimination has led to adverse physical health and mental health outcomes; speaks to the need for additional focused research. Perceptions of stress related to adverse health outcomes in Black women need to be unpacked to improve Black women’s health and identify empowering coping strategies.

The research addressed the gap exposed in the literature by exploring the following research questions:

• 1. What workplace environmental factors contribute to BWSW’s health and mental health outcomes?

• 2. What workplace supports are provided within the social work field, in order to promote positive health outcomes for BWSWs?

Methodology

Design

Guided by the tenants of hermeneutic phenomenology, a qualitative content analysis was performed on study data to capture the various ways BWSWs experienced their organizations as they performed work duties. Individual interviews were conducted to capture the workplace stress perceptions of 17 self-identified BWSWs across the United States. Study participants were recruited using a combination of convenience and snowball sampling for virtual semi-structured interviews about workplace experiences Interested participants who identified as Black women (e.g., having ancestry of African, Afro-Caribbean, and Caribbean descent) and identified as a Social Worker (e.g., having a degree in social work from an accredited social work education institution) were invited to take part in the interviews.

Study framework

Hermeneutic phenomenology was utilized in this study to allow for interpretation of data and encouraged meaning making within the interview text throughout data analysis (Laverty, 2003: 24). Hermeneutic phenomenology focuses on “illuminating details and seemingly trivial aspects within experience that may be taken for granted in our lives, with a goal of creating meaning and achieving a sense of understanding” (Laverty, 2003: 24). Hermeneutic phenomenology not only considers participants’ experiences but is highly focused on their relationship to the world around them. As such, understanding the role that society, institutions, oppression, and discrimination play in the lives of BWSW as it relates to their stress becomes highlighted. The hermeneutic phenomenology approach selection from all the other options revealed itself to be inclusive of experiences from both the researcher and participant viewpoint.

Hermeneutic phenomenology strengths

The overall goal of phenomenological research is to gain a better understanding of the “essence of the experience” for a particular population (Creswell and Poth, 2018: 103). Given the fact that the stress experiences for BWSW are unique based on the intersections of oppression that they experience, hermeneutic phenomenology was used to allow Black women to define their own experiences. Transcendental phenomenology and hermeneutic phenomenology represented the two types of approaches highlighted in Creswell and Poth (2018). Transcendental phenomenology focuses on the specific participant experiences but calls for the researcher to “set aside their experiences, as much as possible, to take a fresh perspective toward the phenomenon under examination” (Creswell and Poth, 2018: 77). Conversely, hermeneutic phenomenology refers to the analysis of written text or verbal communication by a researcher (Sloan and Bowe, 2014). Language is used to provide historical and cultural contexts for both the researcher and participant (Sloan and Bowe, 2014). According to Creswell and Poth (2018), hermeneutic phenomenology takes into consideration that “phenomenology is not only a description but is an interpretative process in which the researcher makes an interpretation of the meaning of the lived experience” (p. 77). Therefore, hermeneutic phenomenology proved to be best suited to allow BWSWs to share their experiences. The study data interpretation invited BWSW’s stress perceptions and workplace experiences to be shared unfiltered by the researchers’ lens. Language and personal expression highlight the intersections between being a Black woman and a professional in the workplace.

Data collection methods

Interested participants meeting inclusion criteria were emailed an informed consent form detailing the voluntary nature of their participation, purpose of the study, risks and benefits of participation, and strategies for maintaining their confidentiality. In addition, participants were asked to complete an online demographic form prior to the scheduled interview. Individual interviews were held using Zoom from February 2021 to March 2021 where each interview averaged approximately 2 hours. Video and audio recordings were translated into written transcripts generated from Zoom with minor editing from the researcher.

An 11-question semi-structured interview guide was created within the boundaries of hermeneutic phenomenology meaning the interview questions were open-ended to allow for uninhibited responses. The interview guide also helped to organize the narrative interview responses on workplace experiences. When needed, the researcher probed and clarified participant responses. For example, two interview guide questions asked, “please describe your work environment” or “describe what emotions you often feel at work.” Both questions solicit inductive responses useful to understanding the workplace stress experienced by BWSW. Other questions explored participant experiences regarding taking time off from work, taking breaks at work, and workplace responsibilities.

Participants were asked to verbally share what factors contribute to their stress levels in the workplace and describe how the workplace can assist in decreasing their stress levels. Each participant was assigned a unique five-digit identification number and a pseudonym. Video and audio taped interview transcripts were transcribed verbatim. The current study was approved by a University at Albany, SUNY Institutional Review Board.

Data analysis

All transcribed data was uploaded into Atlas.ti (version 9. 0) to organize, develop, and analyze meaning-making themes. Atlas.ti represents a software program dedicated to qualitative research, data management, and analysis. Inductive and deductive data analysis methods were utilized as the transcribed texts were reduced to overarching themes. Inductively, participant experiences generated patterns which shaped overall themes. The data was analyzed from specific categories per interview such as co-worker relationships and time off request practices to overarching general themes. Deductively, once all of the interview general themes were considered, themes were grouped into meaningful experiences across all participants, some of which correlated with the social work burnout and workplace stress literature. All analyses of raw data led to additional codes that emerged from stated stress experiences. After reviewing verbatim transcripts multiple times to develop codes, an inquiry audit was conducted with the help of another researcher to ensure that study findings were dependable and reflected each participant’s experience. The themes identified during the inquiry audit were compared to themes generated by the researcher to reconcile any differences and ensure that there was textual evidence for each code. In addition, member checking was conducted to confirm whether participant experiences were captured accurately.

Findings

Descriptives

Seventeen self-identified BWSWs ranged in age from 26 to 53 years of age, with a mean age of 36 years. All but one earned a master’s degree in social work from an accredited university. The annual individual income of the respondents was split between three income categories with 31.3% (5 participants) ranging from $50,000 to $74,999, 31.3% (5 participants) ranging from $75,000 to $99,999 and 37.6% (6 participants) making over $100,000 yearly. One participant did not provide annual household income information. Experience within the social work field ranged between 4 and 25 years.

Perceived workplace stress level

Following a general question about workplace experience, one probe consistently asked of participants included a clarification for what participants meant by stress. In order to gain an understanding about the degree of stress each were asked to rate their average perceived workplace stress levels on a scale of 1–10, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. When asked to rate their perceived workplace stress levels using the same scale, 35.3% (6 participants) rated their stress level between 3 and 5 while 64.7% (11 participants) rated their levels between 6 and 10, indicating high stress in the workplace.

Workplace stressors

Study participants identified the workplace as a primary source of stress. As previously stated, 11 of the 17 participants reported high levels of stress within their various workplace settings. Participants attributed their stress to large amounts of paperwork; increased work demands, lack of support within the workplace, and covert forms of racism. Two major themes emerged, highlighting stressors within the workplace that caused additional stress for BWSW in this study: structural roadblocks to work enjoyment and unrealistic workplace demands.

Structural roadblocks to work enjoyment

Many workplace settings adhere to unwritten practices that are sexist and racist. For example, gaslighting practices around high caseloads being an expectation for all, when in fact high caseloads are assigned based on the assumption that Black women are resilient in the face of adversity and can handle large workloads (Woods-Giscombe, 2018; Perez et al., 2022). The imbalance in workload often creates a workplace culture that is not supportive of Black women. When reflecting on a job in which she was expected to complete her coworker’s work duties as well as her own, Brianna, a 33-year-old woman working in a hospital setting shared:

I had a white [Coworker] that came in the position that was kind of equal to mine that I kind of had to train. Her and my boss, a white woman, criticized me for not doing my coworker’s work… [My coworker] said that she wasn’t going to see the patient. The patient was two hours from my home and only thirty minutes from my coworkers home but I was chastised for the patient not being seen… So then when that person quit… [in my] performance evaluation my boss told me that if I had been a better partner to my coworker, she wouldn’t have quit. Basically, it was my fault that she had quit…

Brianna felt that she had to resign from her position highlighting racism, lack of support and unfair work distribution as a roadblock to her satisfaction at work. Study participants perceived that stereotypical views of aggression, strength, and resilience impacted how they interacted in the workplace. The study participants noted that racism and sexism impacted their relationships with their coworkers/supervisors and how they viewed themselves in the workplace. When study participants were asked if they felt that their stress experiences differed from people of another race and gender, many study participants reported “yes”—they felt their stress experiences were different. Bethany, a 26-year-old woman living in New York reported a similar experience:

Well, first and foremost as a Black woman again, we don't really have that many privileges…Black women go through a lot compared to men and non-Black women… Constantly being stereotyped and stigmatized. Constantly having to fight for ourselves and defend ourselves...Trying to make our mark and being seen and heard without being invalidated.

Bethany went on to share that being invalidated within the workplace contributed to feelings of powerlessness; she felt like an “imposter” within her social work role. Bethany’s experiences speak to the impact that discrimination has on how Black women perceive themselves. In addition, many participants shared that their coworkers were encouraged to express their concerns at work, while Black women were viewed as aggressive for expressing similar concerns. Alexis, a 31-year-old woman, from Massachusetts shared that she often wondered if promotions were denied, ideas overlooked, or support was not provided because of her race. Alexis disclosed the following:

I do think that Black people, specifically Black women…experience a different capacity of stress, then people who are not Black…I think of an incident could happen, in the workplace and [a] white person might think of the context of the incident like, why did this happen? They might think about how it relates to them… And then I think of an incident in the workplace and how a Black person myself, I would perceive it. And first thing that comes to my mind is, is this about my skin color [or] my gender? Which I find that people of other races or someone who's male and white perhaps, they wouldn’t have that thought.

Instances of feeling ignored, undervalued, and dismissed within the workplace due to racism and sexism were common occurrences among study participants.

Unrealistic workplace demands

Large amounts of paperwork, large caseloads, and multiple job roles with a lack of support, limited resources and inadequate time to complete everyday tasks were delineated as examples of unrealistic workplace demands for study participants. BWSW who participated in the interviews enjoyed working with their clients and were passionate about their work, but disclosed that being overloaded with multiple responsibilities added additional stress to their jobs. Chelsea, a 30-year-old woman, highlighted that she was expected to complete too many tasks within a small timeframe; her work setting had no supervision, which resulted in her leaving her job to pursue other employment. Chelsea described the following circumstances as common:

So, you’re working around constant crisis…And then there's a piece of expecting [you] to do everything in a little amount of time…with fidelity and perfectly…I know everyone felt that it was just the aura of that building; high expectations are unrealistic at times for me, and it was stressful.

Other participants shared that they often had to skip their lunch break, work during lunch or complete additional non-paid hours to complete all the work responsibilities expected. Tasha, a 29-year-old woman, shared that completing required documentation in the allotted time was her most significant stressor. Tasha said that often she was provided little to no guidance as to how to complete paperwork; this caused her immense stress. Consensus among interviewees showed that the workload felt overwhelming as they were often expected to complete their job responsibilities and that of coworkers—and sometimes bosses.

Recommendations for workplace supports

Many participants shared that despite their high levels of perceived stress in the workplace, they did not feel supported within their work environment. In order to address the heightened stress levels, it was imperative to ensure that participants were able to identify how their workplace could work towards decreasing some of the stressors that contributed to their stress on the job. When explicitly asked how their agency could create a supportive workplace culture that promoted positive well-being, two major themes emerged: a) the need for more frequent staff appreciation and b) normalization of discussions regarding workplace stress. Recommendations for workplace supports were explored more in-depth to encourage change and promote positive health among BWSWs.

Frequent staff appreciation (informal and formal)

Findings indicated that participants felt underappreciated for their work efforts. The participants noted that they continuously put their best foot forward at work; however, they did not receive the deserved recognition. As highlighted previously, study participants believed they work harder than their coworkers. Given the societal accepted norm that Black women are strong and resilient, the stress of Black women is often unnoticed. Many study participants agreed and were expected to perform their jobs despite high levels of stress. Most study participants felt pressured to overachieve in the workplace, which is sometimes viewed as a strength that impacts stress levels. In addition, findings indicated that regardless of how well BWSWs in this study performed, pressure to do better still existed.

Study participants shared that they wanted both informal and formal recognition from their bosses for the completed work. Tasha, a 29-year-old woman, shared that during her first week at her job, there was a staff appreciation day where all work stopped. Staff was provided with awards for their specific contributions to the agency. When asked how her job could promote self-care and cater to her needs, Tasha recalls how she felt that day:

I would do more staff appreciation stuff because that day was like the happiest day at work… I’ve ever had in any job. I saw so much team building. I saw people relate…I was like watching from the outside, like wow, this is a loving environment I am about to enter.

Since the first week of work, Tasha reports that there has been little staff appreciation, high-stress levels, and infrequent discussion initiated by her supervisors on how to decrease work stressors. Many participants shared that they felt as though most supervisors and many colleagues on their job did not care about their well-being. Study participants shared that their jobs are focused on productivity most of the time at the expense of staff well-being. BWSWs in this study reported that formal appreciation and informal appreciation (e.g., saying thank you, verbal acknowledgment in meetings, and staff appreciation days) from their workplace would make the stress associated with their jobs more tolerable.

Normalizing discussions surrounding workplace stress

Normalizing workplace stress conversations took on many forms for the BWSWs in this study. Participants shared that their jobs needed to have open communication about workplace stress, provide training surrounding how to decrease workplace stress, and build policies into the agency’s structure that address workplace stress. Many of the participants shared that they do not believe that their work environment was a safe space to share feelings and discuss stressors; in addition, they felt undervalued. When asked how her job could make her feel safe to discuss workplace stress, Ashley, a 43-year-old woman, discussed supervisory support:

Supervision is a big thing. I think when you can have supervision and someone there to listen and really take into consideration what’s going on in your life…just recognize what it is that you’re tackling, listen to what it is that you’re tackling. And work with you on that.

BWSWs in the study stressed the importance of frequent staff meetings that encouraged them to candidly share their job stressors and assisted them in solutions to decrease stress levels. Findings indicated that study participants often continued working through stress at work for fear that coworkers and bosses will view them negatively. Many expressed a desire to have a safe space where they were encouraged to share feelings surrounding workplace stressors; this would help to decrease stress.

Discussion

To summarize the study findings, BWSWs suffer from unattended workplace stress, burnout, and few outlets to support their coping skill sets. Additionally, findings showed a dissatisfaction with the workplace because of covert racism, lack of support, COVID-19 fear, and practice burnout. The psychosocial aspects of providing effective clinical treatment, especially during the pandemic, challenged all participants in ways never experienced before. Black women are expected to carry the responsibility within the workplace of being flexible in an inflexible environment. For example, BWSWs often carry the responsibility of taking care of everyone around them (e.g., partners, children, friends, and parents) (Szymanski and Stewart, 2010; Thomas et al., 2008; Perez et al., 2022). The pressure to accept additional work responsibilities, with little support from supervisors, has had physical and emotional impacts on Black women. The findings presented here offered insight into the workplace stress experiences of BWSWs whose voices are absent from the literature.

Resulting from the impacts of workplace stress were elements of John Henryism and Imposter Syndrome. Both concepts provided further insight into the participants’ experiences in this study through an intersectional lens (James, 1994; Perez et al., 2022). According to Bennett et al. (2004), John Henryism is categorized by three main factors “…efficacious mental and physical vigor; a strong commitment to hard work; and a single-minded determination to succeed” (Bennett et al., 2004: 371). Many of the BWSWs in this study exhibited all three coping classifications of John Henryism. Most study participants shared high stress levels both in the workplace and in their daily lives. BWSWs in the study expressed the ability to work beyond their limits to take care of all personal and professional responsibilities to keep physical and mental manifestations of stress at bay similar to the Super Woman schema (Perez et al., 2022).

Workplace stressors

Research participants indicated that structural roadblocks to workplace enjoyment. Unrealistic work responsibilities and workplace culture played a huge role in increasing participant stress levels. Study participants shared that they were often overlooked, overworked, underappreciated, and reported that they were expected to complete extensive work responsibilities in a short period. Workplace culture surrounding high work demands was highlighted as a major barrier for study participants, causing increased stress. Participants emphasized feelings that the workplace is responsible for exploring organizational communications, supervision, policies, and procedures to encourage positive health and wellbeing of staff.

Participants overexerted themselves to both excel in the workplace and take care of their personal responsibilities. This survival mechanism, which resonates with the Strong Black Woman narrative and is tied to John Henryism, has been socialized in Black women both inside of the workplace and among family. Most study participants indicated not only physical illnesses as a result of high levels of stress but also mental health concerns (e.g., depression and anxiety). In addition, some study participants indicated that high levels of stress directly resulted in hospitalizations due to unexplained medical conditions or flare ups of pre-existing medical conditions (e.g., high blood pressure and autoimmune diseases). The intense pressure to change the negative stereotypical views of Black people within the workplace plagued BWSWs. Participants’ determination to overcome adversity and provide for their families at the expense of their own physical and emotional well-being, resonates with the literature on surrounding the concept of John Henryism (Bronder et al., 2014).

John Henryism highlights the idea that high-effort coping accompanied by psychosocial stressors can have lasting impacts on the health and wellbeing of Black women. Bronder et al. (2014) link John Henryism with the Strong Black Woman schema and posits that Black women are often expected to be strong both in their personal and professional lives. The societal expectation that Black women can juggle multiple tasks and overcome adversities while leading their households creates a space where Black women feel intense pressure to deal with stressors on their own (Bronder et al., 2014). Societal views of strength add extra pressure on Black women as they internalize stereotypical myths surrounding their coping abilities (Bronder et al., 2014). Thus, Black women are likely to cope with stressors through overexertion, and fortitude without “expressing their psychological distress, depressive or anxiety symptoms, or [need of] psychological services” (Bronder et al., 2014). Given the study findings, additional research needs to explore how Black women define themselves in the context of high effort coping.

Workplace supports

The findings indicated that there was little support for study participants within the workplace surrounding their health and well-being. In some cases, there was mention of stress relief and self-care in the workplace, yet many participants felt no specific plan was put in place to ensure a decrease in their workplace stress. Chrobot-Mason and Aramovich (2013) argue that employees develop knowledge surrounding organizational priorities based on their experiences in the workplace. For example, BWSW in the current study shared that they do not feel prioritized within the workplace due to the constant increase in workload and responsibilities. Participants shared that their workplace focuses more on productivity and profit rather than the health and well-being of staff. BWSWs in this study shared that they often feel undervalued within their workplace as they are forced to take on unrealistic caseloads to increase workplace revenue. The findings highlight the need for developing workplace trainings that are designed to teach upper-management and supervisors strategies for creating an inclusive workplace culture that more substantively reflects the needs of BWSWs. Such training should have open and non-judgmental discussions with management teams to address current practices that might stifle the voices of BWSWs and force them to hide their identities within the workplace. The study opens an avenue for scientific inquiry of workplace settings that are known to produce high levels of stress for BWSWs.

Imposter syndrome

BWSWs reported a constant fear of failure and expressed feelings of ineptitude in the workplace. Study participants said thoughts of fraudulence of their holding positions of influence were common as they did not fully comprehend their work responsibilities or roles; BWSWs stated that they did not belong in the esteemed positions they held. Although study participants went above and beyond work expectations and were overqualified for some of their positions, quite a few reported feeling insecure about their work capabilities. In current literature, feeling like a “fraud” and harboring insecurities about work performance have been identified as “imposter syndrome.” Feenstra et al. (2020) state that imposter syndrome is the “notion that some individuals feel as if they ended up in esteemed roles and positions not because of their competencies, but because of some oversight or stroke of luck” (p. 1).

Some participants in this study reported heightened anxiety as they tried to prove themselves as competent in the workplace constantly. The study points to the notion that as BWSWs work extra hours and feel heavily relied on despite personal feelings that they received their positions by “luck”. Much of the current literature surrounding imposter syndrome focuses on exploring how the individual can clinically work to create a more positive self-image (Clark et al., 2014). However, more studies surrounding how institutional structures and stereotypical views impact self-image and how racism and sexism impact feelings of imposter syndrome need to be conducted.

Conclusion

Black women social workers believing they are overlooked, stereotyped, misunderstood, and mistreated in the workplace captures how intersectionality between race and gender remains inseparable in the workplace. The literature discusses intersectionality as if they were two separate concepts to be coupled. For BWSWs, the academic concept of intersectionality is mainly a unification of identities. More research needs to be conducted on how Black Women in the workforce understand themselves as complex beings. Supporting and uplifting everyone around them, the needs of Black women are often dismissed and forgotten (Perez et al., 2022; Woods-Giscombe, 2018). Additional studies need to be conducted to explore further the impact that stress has on the health of BWSW. Black women are often expected to handle hardship stoically without regard for themselves (Perez et al., 2022; Woods-Giscombe, 2018). This may be due to the resilience and strength they exude in the face of adversity. Black women’s physical and mental health have taken a back seat to everyone else’s needs, and it is time to advocate for changes in societal assumptions of Black women and workplace policies (Perez et al., 2022, Woods-Giscombe, 2018). Black women deserve to be supported, celebrated, and heard within the workplace and in academic research. Current literature lacks an understanding of how BWSW perceive stress and the impact that the work environment has on their increased stress levels.

BWSWs in this study experienced oppression at the various intersections of their identities (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, age, and career-social work position) (Perez et al., 2022, Woods-Giscombe, 2018). While some study findings mirror current stress literature surrounding experiences of other races and genders, this study showed that the stress experiences of BWSW are exacerbated in the workplace. Discriminatory practices intensified the stress experiences of BWSW as they juggled multiple identities, overlapping societal expectations, and family expectations. The study findings supported the notion that the stress of BWSW in the workplace is complex and needs further exploration in the research literature.

ORCID iDs

Collina D Cooke https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0847-3438

Julia F Hastings https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2262-2279